JP7449811B2 - Vehicle emergency communication device - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to an emergency communication device for a vehicle.

In vehicles such as cars, accidents such as collisions may occur. In this case, the vehicle stops on the road it is traveling on. It is also desirable to be able to collect accident information and report it to an emergency organization, as in Patent Document 1.
In addition, occupants of automobiles may become unwell. Even in this case, it is desirable for the vehicle to be able to make an emergency stop on the shoulder of the road it is traveling on and report to an emergency organization.

Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2015-045965

By the way, when a vehicle in an emergency situation such as a collision is stopped on the road or on the shoulder of the road, subsequent vehicles arriving at the scene later need to visually confirm the situation and take action. However, depending on the road environment, the occupants of the following vehicles may not be able to visually confirm the situation at the scene until immediately before the scene. It is desirable for the occupants of the following vehicle to avoid secondary collisions with parked vehicles or occupants who have escaped from the vehicle.
In this way, vehicles are required to be improved to suppress secondary collisions and the like.

The emergency communication device for a vehicle according to the present invention includes an emergency detection unit that detects or estimates an emergency situation such as a vehicle collision, and when an emergency situation for the vehicle is detected or estimated, information about the emergency situation is transmitted by a following vehicle. a communication device configured to transmit information regarding the emergency situation to the outside so that the information regarding the emergency situation is received from the following vehicle; Receive receipt information in response to reception.

Preferably, the vehicle includes a notification device that, after the communication device transmits the information regarding the emergency situation, notifies the occupants of the status of whether or not the communication device has received reception information from the following vehicle. .

Preferably, the communication device transmits at least the condition of the vehicle due to the collision or the condition of the occupant of the vehicle due to the collision, as the information regarding the emergency situation.

Preferably, when the communication device receives the reception information from the following vehicle, the communication device transmits the received reception information to the server device via a wireless communication network.

Preferably, when the communication device receives information regarding an emergency situation of another vehicle, the communication device transmits the received information to the other vehicle after confirmation by a passenger.

In the present invention, when an emergency situation requiring parking or stopping, such as a vehicle collision, is detected or estimated, the communication device transmits information about the emergency situation to the outside so that the information about the emergency situation can be received by a following vehicle. This allows occupants such as the driver of the following vehicle to understand that a collision has occurred in the preceding vehicle and take appropriate action. In particular, by transmitting emergency information related to a collision, such as the condition of the vehicle due to the collision or the condition of the occupants of the vehicle due to the collision, occupants such as the driver of the following vehicle can understand the extent of the collision that occurred in the preceding vehicle. It is possible to understand and deal with the situation before it reaches the site.
Furthermore, after transmitting the information regarding the emergency, the communication device of the vehicle that has detected or estimated the emergency situation receives reception information corresponding to the reception of the emergency information from the following vehicle. This makes it possible for the occupant of the vehicle that has detected or estimated an emergency situation to determine the change in the situation after the collision, depending on whether or not the communication device has received information from the following vehicle. For example, if the communication device is receiving reception information from a following vehicle, there is a low possibility that the following vehicle will cause a secondary collision with the own vehicle. Furthermore, even if the occupants of a vehicle that has detected or estimated an emergency situation escape from their own vehicle onto the road, there is a low possibility that they will collide with a vehicle following them. Conversely, if the communication device does not receive the reception information from the following vehicle, the vehicle or the occupant who has exited the vehicle may collide with an unknown following vehicle that is not visible. Whether or not the communication device receives reception information from the following vehicle helps the occupants to more appropriately judge changes in the situation after an emergency and take action. The occupants of the vehicle who have detected or estimated an emergency situation will be able to make appropriate decisions about whether to escape or stand by at this point in time, and when to make subsequent escapes. In particular, for example, by providing a notification device that notifies the occupants of whether or not the communication device is receiving reception information from the following vehicle, and continuing to notify the reception status after the communication device transmits information regarding the emergency situation, An occupant of a vehicle that has detected or estimated an emergency situation can know the timing when a following vehicle recognizes the emergency situation of the own vehicle, and can escape from the vehicle in a safer situation after that timing. It is expected that this will reduce secondary collisions caused by vehicles such as following vehicles.

FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating the necessity of an emergency communication system for automobiles. FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram of a control system as an emergency communication device for an automobile according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 3 is a flowchart of emergency processing, including processing for transmitting emergency information, executed by the vehicle in FIG. 2. FIG. 4 is a flowchart of an emergency response process including a process of receiving emergency information executed by the vehicle of FIG. FIG. 5 is a sequence chart showing the flow of emergency contact processing in the emergency contact system of FIG. 1 when an accident due to a collision occurs.

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below based on the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating the necessity of an emergency communication system 1 for an automobile 10.
An emergency contact system 1 for a vehicle 10 in FIG. 1 includes an emergency contact device (described later) provided in the vehicle 10, a plurality of base stations 6 that can communicate with the emergency contact device, a communication network 7 to which the plurality of base stations 6 are connected, It has a server device 2 connected to a communication network 7. The server device 2 may be provided in, for example, a medical institution, a fire department, a police station, a security company, a road management company, or other organizations.

In such an emergency communication system 1, when the automobile 10 encounters an emergency situation due to an accident or the like, emergency information is automatically transmitted from the automobile 10 to the server device 2 via the base station 6 and the communication network 7. Based on the emergency information received, organizations such as fire departments dispatch emergency units to the scene to provide necessary assistance. Thereby, life-saving measures and the like can be immediately provided to the occupants of the automobile 10.
Furthermore, even if the emergency communication device provided in the vehicle 10 directly transmits emergency information to other vehicles 10 such as following vehicles using V2V communication, the emergency communication device provided in the vehicle 10 may transmit emergency information to the base station 6 and the communication network 7 using V2X communication. Emergency information may also be indirectly transmitted to other vehicles 10 through the configured wireless communication network 5. By being notified of the emergency information, other vehicles 10 surrounding the scene, such as following vehicles, can deal with the emergency situation by making an emergency stop, taking a detour, or the like.

In FIG. 1, a plurality of automobiles 10 are traveling on a road 11. The two cars 10 on the left have been stopped due to a head-on collision. Vehicles following you must drive to avoid the accident scene. Furthermore, the vehicle 10 must be stopped in front of the accident site and first aid must be given to the person involved in the accident.
Furthermore, when an emergency situation occurs for the occupants, the automobile 10 stops on the shoulder of the road. The same applies in this case.
In these situations, other vehicles 10 such as following vehicles can travel appropriately by receiving emergency information in advance from the vehicle 10 in an emergency state. If emergency information has not been received, the other vehicle 10 may need to visually recognize, for example, a passenger who has escaped from the vehicle 10 involved in an accident at a short distance, and then make a sudden stop. In this case, there is a possibility that the other vehicle 10 will cause a secondary collision with the parked vehicle 10 that has been in an accident or with the passenger who has escaped from the vehicle 10 .
Such situations should be avoided as much as possible.

FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram of the control system 20 as an emergency communication device of the automobile 10 according to the embodiment of the present invention.
The control system 20 of the automobile 10 in FIG. 2 is represented by a control ECU (Electronic Control Unit) in which a plurality of control devices are incorporated. In addition to the control ECU, the control device includes, for example, a memory that records control programs and data, an input/output port that is connected to a controlled object or its state detection device, a timer that measures time, and to which these are connected. May have an internal bus.
Specifically, the control ECU shown in FIG. 2 includes, for example, a drive ECU 21, a steering ECU 22, a brake ECU 23, a travel control ECU 24, a driving operation ECU 25, a detection ECU 26, a wide area communication ECU 27, a V2X communication ECU 28, a UI operation ECU 29, and an occupant protection ECU 30. , is. The control system 20 of the automobile 10 may include another control ECU (not shown).

The plurality of control ECUs are connected to a vehicle network 36 employed in the vehicle 10, such as a CAN (Controller Area Network) or a LIN (Local Interconnect Network). The vehicle network 36 may include a plurality of bus cables 37 to which a plurality of control ECUs can be connected, and a central gateway (CGW) 38 as a relay device to which the plurality of bus cables 37 are connected. IDs as mutually different identification information are assigned to the plurality of control ECUs. The control ECU basically periodically outputs data to other control ECUs. The ID of the control ECU that is the output source and the ID of the control ECU that is the output destination are added to the data. The other control ECUs monitor the bus cable 37, and if the ID of the output destination is their own, for example, they acquire the data and execute processing based on the data. The central gateway 38 monitors each of the plurality of connected bus cables 37, and if it detects a control ECU connected to a bus cable 37 different from the output source control ECU, it outputs data to that bus cable 37. . Through such relay processing by the central gateway 38, the plurality of control ECUs can input and output data with other control ECUs connected to bus cables 37 different from the bus cables 37 to which each control ECU is connected. .

A display device 41 and an operation device 42 are connected to the UI operation ECU 29 as, for example, user interface equipment for a passenger on board. Display device 41 may be, for example, a liquid crystal device or an image projection device. The operation device 42 may be, for example, a touch panel, a keyboard, or a non-contact operation detection device. The display device 41 and the operating device 42 may be installed, for example, on the inner surface of a vehicle cabin in which a passenger rides. The UI operation ECU 29 acquires data from the vehicle network 36 and displays it on the display device 41. The UI operation ECU 29 outputs an operation input to the operation device 42 to the vehicle network 36. Further, the UI operation ECU 29 may execute processing based on the operation input and include the processing results in the data. The UI operation ECU 29 may, for example, display a navigation screen for setting a destination etc. on the display device 41, search for a route to the destination selected by operation input, and include the route data in the data. The route data may include attribute information such as the lane of the road used to travel from the current location to the destination.

The driving operation ECU 25 is connected to operating members, such as a steering wheel (not shown), a brake pedal, an accelerator pedal, a shift lever, etc., which are used by an occupant to control the driving of the automobile 10 . When the operating member is operated, the driving operation ECU 25 outputs data including whether or not the operating member is operated, the amount of the operation, etc. to the vehicle network 36. Further, the driving operation ECU 25 may execute processing regarding operations on the operating members, and include the processing results in the data. For example, when the accelerator pedal is operated in a situation where there is another moving object or fixed object in the direction of movement of the automobile 10, the driving operation ECU 25 may determine whether the accelerator pedal is abnormally operated and include the determination result in the data.

The detection ECU 26 includes detection members for detecting the running state of the automobile 10, such as a speed sensor 51 that detects the speed of the automobile 10, a 3-axis acceleration sensor 52 that detects the acceleration of the automobile 10, and an outer periphery of the automobile 10. For example, a stereo camera 53 that captures images of passengers in the vehicle, an in-vehicle camera 54 that captures images of occupants in the vehicle, a microphone 55 that converts sounds inside and outside the vehicle into data, a GNSS receiver 56 that detects the position of the vehicle 10, and the like are connected. The GNSS receiver 56 receives radio waves from a plurality of GNSS satellites, and obtains the latitude and longitude of the current position of the vehicle, and the current time. The detection ECU 26 acquires detection information from the detection member and outputs data including the detection information to the vehicle network 36. Furthermore, the detection ECU 26 may execute processing based on the detection information and include the processing results in the data. For example, when the triaxial acceleration sensor 52 detects an acceleration that exceeds a collision detection threshold, the detection ECU 26 may determine that a collision has been detected, and may include the collision detection result in the data. The detection ECU 26 extracts objects such as pedestrians, other moving vehicles 10, street trees, telephone poles, and guardrails existing around the own vehicle based on the image of the stereo camera 53, and determines the type and attributes of the objects. Based on the position, size, and change of the object in the image, the object's relative direction, relative distance, and if moving, direction of movement are estimated, and the relationship with other objects including these estimation results is estimated. Collision prediction information may be included in the data and output to the vehicle network 36.

A wide area communication device 61 is connected to the wide area communication ECU 27 . The wide area communication device 61 wirelessly communicates with a base station 6 of the wireless communication network 5 in the vicinity of the vehicle 10 . The wide area communication ECU 27 transmits and receives data to and from the server device 2 via the wireless communication network 5 using wireless communication between the wide area communication device 61 and the base station 6 . These constitute a wide area communication device 60 provided in the automobile 10. Wide area communication device 60 is a communication device provided in automobile 10.

A V2X communication device 71 is connected to the V2X communication ECU 28. The V2X communication device 71 and the V2X communication ECU 28 constitute a V2X communication apparatus 70. The V2X communication device 71 transmits and receives data to and from a V2X communication device 70 such as another vehicle 10 traveling near the vehicle 10. Note that the wide area communication device 60 may also be used as the V2X communication device 70.

The driving control ECU 24 controls the driving of the automobile 10. The driving control ECU 24 acquires data from, for example, the wide area communication ECU 27, the detection ECU 26, the driving operation ECU 25, etc. through the vehicle network 36, and controls the driving of the automobile 10 for automatic driving or manual driving assistance. Travel control ECU 24 generates travel control data for controlling travel of automobile 10 based on the acquired data, and outputs it to drive ECU 21, steering ECU 22, and brake ECU 23. Drive ECU 21, steering ECU 22, and brake ECU 23 control travel of automobile 10 based on input travel control data.

A plurality of seat belt devices, a plurality of airbag devices, and a passenger protection memory 87 are connected to the passenger protection ECU 30 . Seatbelt devices include, for example, a driver-side seatbelt device 81 for a passenger driving the automobile 10 and a passenger-side seatbelt device 82 for a passenger riding in the car 10 together. The airbag devices include, for example, a driver-side front airbag device 83 that deploys in front of the occupant driving the vehicle 10, a driver-side curtain airbag device 84 that deploys outside of the occupant driving the vehicle 10, and a driver-side curtain airbag device 84 that deploys in front of the occupant driving the vehicle 10. There is a passenger-side front airbag device 85 that is deployed in front of the passenger who is riding in the automobile 10, and a passenger-side curtain airbag device 86 that is deployed outside of the passenger who is riding in the automobile 10. These constitute the occupant protection device 80.
The occupant protection ECU 30 operates or controls a seat belt device or an airbag device based on prediction information of a collision with another object or information on a collision detection result from the detection ECU 26 .

The occupant protection memory 87 is a computer-readable recording medium, and stores programs executed by the occupant protection ECU 30, setting values, and the like. The occupant protection memory 87 may record information on the content of control by the occupant protection ECU 30. The occupant protection ECU 30 reads a program from the occupant protection memory 87 and executes it. Thereby, the occupant protection ECU 30 can function as an occupant protection control section of the automobile 10. When an emergency situation such as a collision is detected or estimated, the occupant protection ECU 30 executes occupant protection processing, collects emergency information related to the situation, and transmits the collected emergency information to the outside from the V2X communication device 70. The emergency information transmitted from the V2X communication device 70 can be received by a following vehicle, for example, as shown in FIG. Occupant protection ECU 30 may transmit emergency information from wide area communication device 60. In this case, the transmitted emergency information can be received, for example, by a following vehicle, as shown in FIG. 1, through the base station 6, the server device 2, and other base stations 6 as necessary.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart of emergency processing, including processing for transmitting emergency information, executed by the vehicle 10 of FIG. 2.
The automobile 10 repeatedly executes the process shown in FIG.

In step ST1, the detection ECU 26 detects or estimates a collision of the automobile 10. The detection ECU 26 may detect a collision, for example, when the detection value of the triaxial acceleration sensor 52 is equal to or higher than a predetermined threshold value, which is not normally present. Furthermore, the detection ECU 26 may predict that a collision is unavoidable by determining the presence or absence of another moving object approaching the own vehicle based on, for example, images from the stereo camera 53. If a collision is not detected or predicted, the detection ECU 26 advances the process to step ST2. Upon detecting or predicting a collision, the detection ECU 26 transmits collision detection information to the occupant protection ECU 30, and advances the process to step ST3.
Note that the occupant protection ECU 30 may perform preliminary processing for occupant protection before detecting a collision based on prediction that a collision is unavoidable. As a preliminary process, the occupant protection ECU 30 may, for example, wind up the remainder of the seat belt of the seat belt device to put it in a pretensioned state, or perform other processes. For example, the occupant protection ECU 30 may perform pre-deployment of the airbag device.

In step ST2, the occupant protection ECU 30 determines whether the occupant of the own vehicle is abnormal. The occupant protection ECU 30 determines the health condition of the occupant, for example, based on images from the in-vehicle camera 54. Occupants may lose consciousness or fall asleep while driving. If there is no abnormality with the occupant, the occupant protection ECU 30 returns the process to step ST1. In this case, the occupant protection ECU 30 and the detection ECU 26 repeat the processing of step ST1 and step ST2. The occupant protection ECU 30 and the detection ECU 26 serve as emergency detection units that detect or estimate an emergency situation that requires parking or stopping, such as a collision of the automobile 10. If the occupant is abnormal, the occupant protection ECU 30 advances the process to step ST10.

In step ST3, the occupant protection ECU 30 executes occupant protection processing based on the information that the detection ECU 26 has detected or predicted a collision. The occupant protection ECU 30 selects and operates the seat belt device and airbag device to be activated. The occupant protection ECU 30 winds up the remainder of the seat belt of the selected seat belt device to bring it into a pretensioned state. The occupant protection ECU 30 selects and activates an airbag device that can be deployed in the direction in which the occupant's upper body will fall due to the collision, based on the predicted input direction and magnitude of the collision. As a result, the occupant seated on the seat is restrained to the seat, and even if the occupant comes off the seat, the impact can be absorbed by the airbag.

In step ST4, the occupant protection ECU 30 collects, as emergency information related to the collision of the automobile 10, at least the condition of the automobile 10 due to the collision and the condition of the occupant of the automobile 10 due to the collision.
For example, the occupant protection ECU 30 collects the input direction and magnitude of the impact, the current location and time of the vehicle being parked due to an accident, information on the seat belt device and airbag device that performed the occupant protection process, and the like.
Further, the occupant protection ECU 30 may collect, for example, the seating position of the occupant, the state of the seatbelt, information related to injury to the occupant during a collision, images of the interior of the vehicle, etc., as information regarding the occupant condition within the vehicle.
Further, the occupant protection ECU 30 may collect information regarding whether the occupant is trying to escape from the automobile 10 or whether there is a possibility of escape, as the condition of the occupant of the automobile 10 due to the collision. Information related to evacuation includes, for example, detection or estimation of the occupant's movements and consciousness based on images inside the vehicle, information on the seat belt attachment/detaching sensor, information on door locking or opening/closing, and information on the occupant's reaction to the escape button displayed on the display device 41. There is information detected by the operating device 42 regarding the operation. If the seatbelt attachment/detachment sensor detects disengagement, if the door locking information or opening/closing information is open, or if the operation device 42 detects the occupant's operation on the escape button, the occupant protection ECU 30 may generate information indicating that the occupant is trying to escape from the automobile 10 as information on the condition of the occupant of the automobile 10 due to the collision.
Note that the emergency information related to the collision of the automobile 10 may be collected by the V2X communication ECU 28 of the V2X communication device 70 or the wide area communication ECU 27 of the wide area communication device 60.

In step ST5, the V2X communication ECU 28 of the V2X communication device 70 transmits the emergency information collected by the occupant protection ECU 30 to the following vehicle etc. using the V2X communication device 71. Further, the wide area communication ECU 27 of the wide area communication device 60 may transmit the collected emergency information to a following vehicle or the like via the server device 2 using the wide area communication device 61. As a result, the V2X communication ECU 28 and the wide area communication ECU 27 function as communication devices related to the emergency situation so that when an emergency situation due to an accident of the automobile 10 is detected or estimated, information on the emergency situation is received by the following vehicle. Information can be sent externally. The automobile 10 transmits information regarding the collision to the following vehicle directly using inter-vehicle communication or indirectly through the server device 2 provided in the wireless communication network 5.

In step ST6, the V2X communication ECU 28 or the wide area communication ECU 27 that has made the communication to the outside notifies the UI operation ECU 29 that the communication has been made to the following vehicle. After transmitting the emergency information to the following vehicle, the UI operation ECU 29 notifies the occupants of the unconfirmed state by the following vehicle. The UI operation ECU 29 notifies the following vehicle that the emergency information of the own vehicle has not been confirmed, for example from the display device 41 or a speaker (not shown).

In step ST7, the V2X communication ECU 28 or wide area communication ECU 27 that communicated to the outside transmits the information regarding the emergency situation, and then transmits the information from the following vehicle using the V2X communication device 70 or wide area communication device 60 used for transmitting the emergency information. It is determined whether or not receipt information corresponding to the reception of emergency situation information has been received. If the reception information has not been received from the following vehicle, the V2X communication ECU 28 or wide area communication ECU 27 that has communicated to the outside repeats this process. Upon receiving the receipt information from the following vehicle, the V2X communication ECU 28 or wide area communication ECU 27 that has communicated to the outside advances the process to step ST8. Thereby, the occupant protection ECU 30 receives reception information regarding information regarding the collision from the following vehicle directly using inter-vehicle communication or indirectly through a server provided in the wireless communication network 5.

In step ST8, the wide area communication ECU 27 transmits the receipt information received from the following vehicle by the V2X communication ECU 28 or the wide area communication ECU 27 that communicated to the outside, to the server device 2 via the wireless communication network 5 having the base station 6. . The wide area communication ECU 27 may transmit the accident information to the server device 2 together with the receipt information or prior to the receipt information.

In step ST9, the V2X communication ECU 28 or the wide area communication ECU 27 that has received the receipt information from the following vehicle notifies the UI operation ECU 29 that it has received the receipt information from the following vehicle. The UI operation ECU 29 notifies the occupant that the occupant protection ECU 30 has been confirmed by the following vehicle. From the timing of step ST6, the occupant protection ECU 30 switches the output of the display device 41 and the speaker (not shown), which had been reporting the unconfirmed state of the following vehicle, to the output of the confirmed state of the following vehicle. As a notification device, the occupant protection ECU 30 can notify the passenger by voice or display of whether or not the communication device has received reception information from the following vehicle after the communication device transmits information regarding the emergency situation.

Step ST10 is executed when it is determined in step ST2 that the occupant is abnormal. The occupant protection ECU 30 executes emergency processing to park the vehicle on the shoulder of the road on which it is traveling. The occupant protection ECU 30 causes the travel control ECU 24 to execute an emergency process for parking the own vehicle on the shoulder of the road.

In step ST11, the occupant protection ECU 30 collects information on the occupant's emergency situation. The information on the occupant's emergency situation may include information on the occupant's physical condition such as pupils and pulse rate, an image of the occupant, and the like. After that, the occupant protection ECU 30 advances the process to step ST5.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart of an emergency response process including a process of receiving emergency information, which is executed by the automobile 100 of FIG. 2.
The automobile 10 repeatedly executes the process of FIG. 4 in order to receive emergency information from other automobiles 10.

In step ST21, the V2X communication ECU 28 or the wide area communication ECU 27 determines whether the V2X communication device 70 or the wide area communication device 60 is receiving emergency information about another vehicle. If emergency information about another vehicle has not been received, the V2X communication ECU 28 or the wide area communication ECU 27 repeats this process. Upon receiving the emergency information of another vehicle, the V2X communication ECU 28 or the wide area communication ECU 27 advances the process to step ST22.

In step ST22, the V2X communication ECU 28 or the wide area communication ECU 27 that has received the emergency information of the other vehicle notifies it through the in-vehicle network. Based on the notification, the occupant protection ECU 30 and the travel control ECU 24 execute countermeasure processing according to the received emergency information about the other vehicle. The travel control ECU 24 decelerates the vehicle, stops the vehicle, or causes the vehicle to take a detour. The occupant protection ECU 30 executes occupant protection processing when an unavoidable collision is predicted.

In step ST23, the UI operation ECU 29 displays the received emergency information. The UI operation ECU 29 displays the received emergency information on the display device 41, for example.

In step ST24, the UI operation ECU 29 determines whether or not there is a confirmation operation regarding the received emergency information. The occupant checks the received emergency information about the other vehicle on the display device 41 and performs a confirmation operation on the operating device 42 . If there is no such confirmation operation, the UI operation ECU 29 repeats this process and waits for a confirmation operation. If there is a confirmation operation, the UI operation ECU 29 notifies the V2X communication ECU 28 or the wide area communication ECU 27 that received the emergency information of the other vehicle, and advances the process to step ST25.

In step ST25, the V2X communication ECU 28 or wide area communication ECU 27 that has received the emergency information of the other vehicle transmits reception information indicating that it has received the emergency information. As a result, when the V2X communication ECU 28 or wide area communication ECU 27 receives the emergency information of another vehicle, it transmits the received information to the other vehicle after the confirmation operation is performed by the occupant. can.

FIG. 5 is a sequence chart showing the flow of emergency contact processing in the emergency contact system 1 of FIG. 1 when an accident due to a collision occurs.
FIG. 5 shows a preceding vehicle 100 as the automobile 10 involved in the accident, a following vehicle 101, and the server device 2. Processing proceeds from top to bottom in the figure.

In step ST1, the detection ECU 26 of the preceding vehicle 100 detects a collision of the own vehicle.
In step ST3, the occupant protection ECU 30 of the preceding vehicle 100 executes an occupant protection process to protect the occupant from a collision.
In step ST4, the occupant protection ECU 30 of the preceding vehicle 100 collects emergency information regarding the collision.
In step ST5, the V2X communication ECU 28 or wide area communication ECU 27 of the preceding vehicle 100 automatically transmits the collected emergency information to the following vehicle 101. The wide area communication ECU 27 of the preceding vehicle 100 may also automatically transmit the collected emergency information to the server device 2 at this timing.
In step ST6, the UI operation ECU 29 of the preceding vehicle 100 turns on the display device 41 to indicate that the following vehicle 101 is in an unconfirmed state.

In step ST21, the V2X communication ECU 28 or wide area communication ECU 27 of the following vehicle 101 receives emergency information from the preceding vehicle 100 that has been in an accident.
In step ST22, the passenger protection ECU 30 and travel control ECU 24 of the following vehicle 101 execute processing to deal with the accident of the preceding vehicle 100 based on the received emergency information.
In step ST23, the UI operation ECU 29 of the following vehicle 101 displays the received information about the accident of the preceding vehicle 100 on the display device 41.
In step ST24, the UI operation ECU 29 of the following vehicle 101 determines whether or not the occupant of the following vehicle 101 has performed an information confirmation operation.
In step ST25, the V2X communication ECU 28 or the wide area communication ECU 27 of the following vehicle 101 responds by transmitting the received information regarding the emergency information from the preceding vehicle 100 that was involved in the accident to the own vehicle that was involved in the accident.

In step ST7, the V2X communication ECU 28 or the wide area communication ECU 27 of the preceding vehicle 100 receives the reception information from the following vehicle 101.
In step ST8, the wide area communication ECU 27 of the preceding vehicle 100 transmits the emergency information and the reception information of the following vehicle 101 to the server device 2.
In step ST9, the UI operation ECU 29 of the preceding vehicle 100 changes the lighting state of the display device 41 to indicate that the following vehicle 101 has confirmed the confirmation.

In step ST44, the server device 2 receives the emergency information from the vehicle involved in the accident and the reception information from the following vehicle 101. For example, a fire department or the like that manages the server device 2 can determine whether there are multiple collisions of the following vehicles 101 and dispatch a necessary number of members to the accident site. Team members can rush to the accident site and provide first aid treatment depending on the scale of the accident.

In this embodiment, when an emergency situation requiring parking or stopping, such as a collision of the automobile 10, is detected or estimated, the communication device transmits information regarding the emergency situation so that the following vehicle 101 can receive the emergency situation information. Send. Here, the communication device may communicate information regarding the emergency situation and reception information with the following vehicle 101 directly using inter-vehicle communication or indirectly through a server provided in the wireless communication network 5. . Thereby, occupants such as the driver of the following vehicle 101 can understand that a collision has occurred in the preceding vehicle 100 and take appropriate action. In particular, by transmitting the state of the vehicle 10 caused by the collision or the state of the occupants of the vehicle 10 caused by the collision as information about an emergency situation related to a collision, occupants such as the driver of the following vehicle 101 can inform the driver of the vehicle 100 of the preceding vehicle 100. It is possible to grasp the extent and situation of a collision before it reaches the scene and take action.
Furthermore, the communication device of the vehicle 10 that has detected or estimated the emergency situation receives reception information from the following vehicle 101 in response to the reception of the emergency situation information after transmitting the information regarding the emergency situation. Thereby, the occupant of the vehicle 10 who has detected or estimated an emergency situation can determine the change in the situation after the collision, depending on whether or not the communication device has received information from the following vehicle 101. For example, if the communication device has received reception information from the following vehicle 101, there is a low possibility that the following vehicle 101 will cause a secondary collision with the own vehicle. Furthermore, even if the occupant of the automobile 10 who has detected or estimated an emergency situation escapes from his or her own vehicle onto the road, there is a low possibility that the occupant will collide with the following vehicle 101. Conversely, if the communication device does not receive the reception information from the following vehicle 101, there is a possibility that the own vehicle or the occupant who has exited the vehicle will collide with an unknown following vehicle 101 or the like that is not visible. Whether or not the communication device receives reception information from the following vehicle 101 is useful for the occupants to more appropriately judge changes in the situation after an emergency and take action. The occupant of the vehicle 10 who has detected or estimated an emergency situation will be able to appropriately determine whether to escape or standby at the current moment and the timing of subsequent escape. In particular, for example, a notification device is provided to notify the occupants by voice or display whether or not the communication device is receiving reception information from the following vehicle 101, and the reception status is notified after the communication device transmits the information regarding the emergency situation. By continuing to do so, the occupants of the vehicle 10 that has detected or estimated an emergency situation can know when the following vehicle 101 has recognized the emergency situation of their own vehicle, and can move outside the vehicle in a safer situation after that timing. You can escape to. It can be expected that secondary collisions caused by the following vehicle 101 can be suppressed.

Although the above embodiments are examples of preferred embodiments of the present invention, the present invention is not limited thereto, and various modifications and changes can be made without departing from the gist of the invention.

In the embodiment described above, the ECU is divided into a plurality of parts in the automobile 10, but some or all of them may be integrated into one ECU.

In the embodiment described above, the occupant protection ECU 30 executes the emergency information communication process shown in FIGS. 3 and 4.
In addition, for example, the emergency information communication process shown in FIGS. 3 and 4 may be executed by other control ECUs included in the control system 30, such as the travel control ECU 24 and the detection ECU 26.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1...Emergency contact system, 2...Server device, 5...Wireless communication network, 6...Base station, 7...Communication network, 10...Car, 11...Road, 20...Control system (emergency communication device), 21...Drive ECU, 22... Steering ECU, 23... Braking ECU, 24... Travel control ECU, 25... Driving operation ECU, 26... Detection ECU, 27... Wide area communication ECU, 28... Communication ECU, 29... UI operation ECU, 30... Occupant protection ECU, 36...Car network, 37...Bus cable, 38...Central gateway, 41...Display device, 42...Operation device, 51...Speed sensor, 52...3-axis acceleration sensor, 53...Stereo camera, 54...In-vehicle camera, 55...Microphone , 56...GNSS receiver, 60...wide area communication device, 61...wide area communication device, 70...V2X communication device, 71...V2X communication device, 80...occupant protection device, 81...driver side seat belt device, 82...passenger side seat Belt device, 83... Driver side front airbag device, 84... Driver side curtain airbag device, 85... Passenger side front airbag device, 86... Passenger side curtain airbag device, 87... Occupant protection memory, 100... Leading vehicle, 101...Following car

Claims (5)

an emergency detection unit that detects or estimates an emergency situation such as a vehicle collision;
a communication device that transmits information regarding the emergency situation to the outside so that when an emergency situation of the vehicle is detected or estimated, the information about the emergency situation is received by a following vehicle;
has
After transmitting the information regarding the emergency situation, the communication device receives reception information in response to receiving the information regarding the emergency situation from the following vehicle.
Vehicle emergency communication device.
After the communication device transmits the information regarding the emergency situation, the vehicle includes a notification device that notifies the occupants of a status as to whether or not the communication device has received reception information from the following vehicle.
An emergency communication device for a vehicle according to claim 1.
The communication device transmits at least a state of the vehicle due to the collision or a state of an occupant of the vehicle due to the collision as information regarding the emergency situation.
An emergency communication device for a vehicle according to claim 1 or 2.
The communication device includes:
when receiving the receipt information from the following vehicle, transmitting the received receipt information to a server device via a wireless communication network;
An emergency communication device for a vehicle according to any one of claims 1 to 3.
The communication device includes:
When receiving information regarding an emergency situation of another vehicle, transmitting the received information to the other vehicle after confirmation by a passenger;
An emergency communication device for a vehicle according to any one of claims 1 to 4.

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